Tongue Point was a small island in the Columbia River. In January 1921, approximately 395 acres were deeded from Clatsop County to the United States, which placed the property under the control of the Department of the Navy. The property was used by the Navy in 1924 as a submarine and destroyer base. Use was limited to the uplands area and some tidelands, but the property was essentially dormant until dredging and filling began in 1939. In 1939, the Navy began converting the base to a Naval Air Station for seaplanes. Between 1939 and 1941, the subtidal lands south of Tongue Point Island were hydraulically filled with sediment from offshore dredging operations. The hydrofilled area extended from Tongue Point Island south nearly to the mouth of Mill Creek and east to the shore of the Columbia River. Thus, Tongue Point became a peninsula. Nearly all of the hydraulically filled area was paved. Hydrofilling enlarged the Naval Air Station to approximately 550 acres. After additional property was deeded from Clatsop County to the federal government, the former site encompassed approximately 840 acres.
From 1941 through 1946 the site was used by Department of Defense as a Naval Seaplane Base. Seaplane hangars, AVGAS refueling systems and repair and maintenance facilities were constructed on the hydrofilled portion of the Naval Air Station. Construction to support naval air operations was completed in 1942 and seaplanes (PBY Catalina) arrived in early 1943. Concrete ramps were built to allow seaplanes access to the river. A large ordnance storage area was constructed on Tongue Point. To meet the needs of the base population, living quarters, an athletic field, a medical dispensary, a powerhouse, a sewage treatment plant, a fire training area, sludge burn pits, pipelines, tanks and a waste incinerator were built on the hydrofilled and upland portions of the site.
In 1946, naval air operations ceased and the base became a fleet facility for the Columbia River Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet though 1962. To accommodate the reserve fleet, the river was dredged and eight concrete finger piers were constructed. In January 1962, the Navy deactivated the facility and the property was subsequently transferred to the Government Services Administration.